Month: April 2013

Her story has too often been likened to a fairy tale. But it’s not. Even Cinderella did not live in a garbage dump, and Belle was never molested by the beast. Princess Aurora was pricked by one needle; Snow White was surrounded by adoring dwarves. Julie Cox, on the other hand, was raped twice and spent two years scavenging scrap metal at the former Subic Naval Base with a sickly infant son. At 15, she was a guinea pig for medical students as she battled leukemia, hepatitis, hemorrhagic fever and other infections. When she finally left her small town in Quezon to become an undocumented maid in the United States, she had no friends and had to give up her son for adoption. And yet, she made her own happy-ever-after. “If you can see through your suffering, you will realize that it is also your opportunity for great joy. We are not born to be miserable,” Cox writes in her book, I Ordered My Future Yesterday. The 9th of 12 children, Cox had to quit …

The key to lasting relationships is enough dose of date nights. For a February article, I checked in with travel authorities (Travel + Leisure, Tripadvisor, Conde Nast) for the most romantic hotels/resorts in the U.S. that will make any couple ditch the world and recharge the romance. * All photos are courtesy of the hotels. ==================== Post Ranch Inn, Big Sur Reclaimed wood, glass, steel and stone merged into this luxury hotel that embraces the mountains of Big Sur while looking out to the Pacific Ocean. Post Ranch Inn reconnects couples like no other, with its policy of no clocks and no TVs. Take in the sights from room decks jutting out of the cliffs or drive down Highway 1 to nearby Carmel and Monterey for a classic Californian road trip. Built by the scion of one of Big Sur’s pioneering families who have lived in the area for 150 years, Post Ranch Inn will grow your love for all things sustainable and organic, like its architecture and your dinner. For the fifth straight year, …

This is the second pat of my series on the fight for equity of Filipino veterans, written in 2008 when I was a Yuchengco media fellow at the University of San Francisco’s Center for the Pacific Rim. The U.S. government has since approved partial benefits for veterans but this recent story shows another blow to the seemingly endless struggle for equity. San Francisco – Some say they are fighting an unwinnable war, and perhaps they are, but they are soldiers – they will continue to fight, if it’s the last thing they do. By the looks of the Filipino World War II veterans – their faces old, their arms weak, their gaits slow – this struggle for recognition and proper compensation, or what is called “equity” around here, may just take up their last breath. After a near-victory in the 110th Congress, the veterans and their supporters are back to square one in a legislative battle that has now spanned six decades and reaped only piecemeal laws granting them citizenship, access to health care and …

This was written in 2008, when I was a Yuchengco media fellow at the University of San Francisco’s Center for the Pacific Rim. It’s part of a series I did on the struggle of the widows of Filipino soldiers who died fighting for their rightful benefits as U.S. veterans. Today I found this article. Sad, just sad. San Francisco – Pilar dela Cruz is 68 years old and worried about her taxes next year. “I just read in a newspaper that they want to increase taxes because of the crisis,” she says one afternoon after arriving home from her morning shift. Despite her own age and knee problem, dela Cruz, the widow of a Filipino veteran, is still working eight hours a day, five days a week, as a care provider for the elderly. Her husband Ricardo, a former guerilla fighter who has received no recognition or financial compensation for his service in the U.S. military during World War II, left her with nothing when he died in 2001. “I plan to work until I’m 70, so …

For most visitors to Boracay, lounging on the beach with a good book or a cold shake, feet tickled by the powdery fine sand, is enough activity for a week. But for first-timers to Travel + Leisure’s World’s Best Island in 2012, it’s worth taking this checklist with you for the Boracay basics. Sunset sail In summer, paraw rentals go for P1,000++ but you can haggle and bring this down to P600 if you sail any time before 4 p.m. It’s the sunset that jacks up the price. In low season, you can go sailing at sunset for P500. Either way, the breeze on your face is worth it. Sunrise walk If you can get past your hangover from the previous night, it’s ideal to take a walk, barefoot of course, around 6 a.m. The usually crowded White Beach is deserted and you can climb Willy’s Rock for one of the best spots from which to take snapshots of the beach. Massage on the beach This is a classic beach (in)activity that you can enjoy …

Boracay is the toast of the town now, bagging international awards here and there. But there was a time–and we saw it then, on a family vacation in the early ’90s–when the island was less crowded and the beachfront was bigger and cleaner. It has changed a lot today, but the best things have stayed the same: the sand is still super fine, the sunset can still silence anyone, and the waters still gleam turquoise in the sun. ==================== If Boracay were an ex-boyfriend, he’s the kind you’ll come back to no matter how many times you think you’ve found a better guy. You could wander, hopping from island to island–which is tempting in a country with 7,107 of them– but in the end, you’ll find yourself back in Boracay’s arms, knowing in your heart, it’s The One. Unfortunately, when the summer fever hits, you’ll find that you’re not the only one who has come to that conclusion; fortunately, love would teach you to live with the fact that you have to share the …